Like Mother, Like Daughter
by Gabrielle-Gaby
Summary: Chuck and Blair thought their high school years were hard, but nothing is as hard as raising teenagers. How will they handle the difficulties they now face? Will they rise above the challenge or fall to defeat?
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone!

So, this was supposed to be the sequel to my other story "Enthusiasm". However, I decided not to carry on writing "Enthusiasm" and write "Like Mother, Like Daughter" instead. I really do hope you'll enjoy reading it. :)

And a great thank-you to Abby, my betareader and a very good friend. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl or any of the characters. :)

Chapter 1

"Oh my God, , what the fuck is all of that stuff?" asked CJ in a disbelieving tone while looking at the hall's floor that was covered with bags stuffed with lingerie. "Are you opening a sex shop or something? I've always thought that Bass Industries gives you enough money, but judging by your sexual activeness, my dear parents..."

"Mind your words, Charles Jr.," warned his mother who has just entered the house right after her husband.

"Don't even try, mom. He's never going to understand what it means to have good manners. Charlie, my dear brother, why don't you go up to your bedroom and masturbate before leaving? Maybe you'll be less offensive to an exclusive line of lingerie of our grandma's design. Or, maybe take a piece. I suspect you never get to take off something like this. A little better quality than what the sluts you fuck wear, isn't it, Charlie?" she said in a venomous, Waldorf-Bass tone.

"Anna Holly Bass, I warn you. I warn you both. Just_ one_ more word about anybody's sex life, and I'll send awful notes about you to Gossip Girl. Trust me, you don't want this," said Chuck in cold yet playful tone. His oldest children were exactly like their parents.

"Sorry, Dad," said the twins in unison.

"Can we go now, Daddy?" asked Anna. "I'm meeting with Malcolm in an hour and I want to grab the limo before Charlie helps himself to it and uses it to..." she was reminded by her father's finger not to make any remarks about what CJ does in their limo. "Anyway, can I go and take it?" she said using her puppy-dog eyes that always made her father melt like an ice cube. Charles knew that his chance to take the limo that night was gone - Chuck Bass senior was totally into his daughter.

"Yes, you can, Annie-Bunny, but don't come home too late. School starts tomorrow, and you don't want to look wasted, do you?" said Chuck as he kissed the seventeen-year-old on the forehead. She kissed him back and turned on her heel. "You see, Charlie. You're totally out of luck today." She hissed into her brother's ear.

"Yeah, I see, Annie-Bunny," he whispered back.

"Don't call me Annie-Bunny."

"Don't call me Charlie."

"Over my dead body, bro."

"Over my dead body, sis." he retorted with a playful grin.

"I hate you, you know?" Anna answered, hugging her brother tightly. "You can take the limo after I get to Humphrey's, but, CJ, please, don't get any dirty Brooklyn girl pregnant."

"Of course not, AH," he kissed her cheek and let go of her, but grabbed her elbow. "Anne? Don't get yourself pregnant with a Humphrey baby."

"Of course not," she replied and left the hall with her brother following her.

XOXO

"So where are our other children? The ones that consider things other than having sex and, well, having sex, fun?" asked Blair while looking through the lingerie in the first box.

"Probably in their bedrooms, but you never know. I'll call them," said Chuck. "Timothy! Christinne! Come and say hello to your parents before we leave!"

"Ah! What is that?" gasped Blair in disbelievement. "Does she think I am, like, eighty? I am not old enough to wear grandma's lingerie!" She was holding a pair of gigantic pants. "I hate my mother. I always did, and I alway will."

"Oh, don't be so harsh on her," said Chuck, rubbing his wife's arm. "She probably thinks that you are a little bigger than you used to be, after giving birth to four children. She doesn't see you very often, let it be forgiven."

"I'm giving it all to Serena. Call my mother and tell her to fuck herself," she said angrily. Chuck just smiled.

"Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy," said Christinne, their ten-year-old daughter, who is a living copy of Blair. She was wearing a lab uniform along with Converse All Stars. It was her absolutely favorite outfit that always made her mother freak out. "Where are you going tonight? I want to make this quick, I'm sorry. I'm trying to make hydrogen out of potassium and an acid. Don't worry," she added when she saw horror on her parents faces. "I'm using very little of the substances, nothing can happen," she said lightly while kissing both Chuck and Blair on the cheek and wishing them good night. As she walked back into her room, she met her older brother. They played the who-goes-which-way game, laughing loudly, when Timothy finally came to see his parents.

He was a very tall fifteen-year-old boy. He had Chuck's strong jaw and face shape, but he definitely inherited Blair's lips, eyes, nose and the whole delicacy of her figure. He was, however, a very promising young designer and was always wearing clothes made by himself. Blair quietly approved of this fact. She had enough of the overbearing testosterone of both Chucks to fully appreciate the fact that her younger son was more of a girl than a hormone-driven youngster. And even though she knew he was gay, and she knew that he knew that she knew, she had never shown a hint of disapproval. She just accepted him the way that he was while waiting for him to mature enough to tell her the truth. Blair had never thought she would have to accept the fact that her son was a homosexual, it was in absolute conflict with her permanent need to be absolutely free of scandals and everything that could destroy her crystal clear image, but when the superstition became a fact, she just accepted it. After all, Timothy was her son. And the way Blair considered motherhood didn't include hurting her child.

It was quite different with Chuck, actually. Of course, he loved his son very much, just like the other three children, but it wasn't easy for him to accept that his son was so... different. He didn't suspect him of being gay, of course, that was Blair's thing. After all, Tim didn't have all the "gayish" characteristics like a thin voice, clapping hands all the time, or that sort of thing, but he was designing clothes. Clothes, for christ's sake. Yes, of course, Chuck Bass himself was fonder of fashion than a typical man, but let it be his little weirdness. Despite that, Chuck had difficulties with accepting the fact that his beloved son wants to be a designer, when both twins and Christianne have shown more practical and cool-headed characters, just like his or Blair's. Timothy was the opposite of it. And Chuck didn't know how to talk with him, how to start the conversation, and he felt that his son was a little bit afraid of him. It was the thing that scared him even more - he can be a very strict boss, but at home he was a lovely husband and father that every child dreams of. He had great contact with CJ, they had their own tradition - every month they would go on a trip to a different place, neither of them had ever been to. It was always great fun for both Bass men. With Anna, he went for coffee and a croissant at her favorite cafe near the school every Wednesday at 6.30 a.m. It was time he had reserved only for her. They talked about the past week, without any secrets, and about their long-term plans. They've always talk so long that they were always late - Anna to school, Chuck to the office - even though they were always starting their Wednesday breakfast so scandalously early. With Christie, he visited every museum, they've found in New York and New Jersey. Chuck didn't expect it, but he actually had a lot of fun watching ancient pots and remains of ancient Rinos. Every Monday afternoon, they went to the laboratory at Columbia University to watch the chemists working. The scientists sometimes let Christie do some minor work (Chuck donated to the research very generously). And every once in a while, Chuck took his wife on an unexpected trip to the places she always wanted to go, bought her a beautiful necklace, or stormed into her office in the middle of the day to take her to a private wine tasting.

But with Timothy he didn't have a ritual. He tried taking him to baseball, but he didn't look really interested in the game. He tried taking him to the cinema for the old movies marathons, but Tim, instead of watching the movies, was watching his father checking if he was bored. It made Chuck so uncomfortable that he hadn't been able to focus on the plot. He tried taking him shopping, but even that didn't make a difference - Timothy was so scared of his father he didn't want to bond with him in any way, even though Chuck had tried everything he could possibly think of. And all that without any significant difference in the way things were.

That was the reason why every appearance of his younger son made him slightly uncomfortable. He was happy Blair had such a good relationship with Timmy but, to be honest, it made him slightly jealous as well. What was wrong with him?

"Where are you going, Mom? You just came back," asked Timothy as he directly avoided his father in this question.

"Just some kind of late business meeting. A charity gala of some sort, but it's a very good occasion for your father to meet with the contrahents. And I'll probably just chat with Nate and Maureen Van Der Bilt, because aunt Serena went somewhere. I can't really remember where because she goes on her infamous trips all the time..." Blair tried to recall the name of the place her best friend chose to spend her time, but she just couldn't.

"Santa Monica," helped her husband. "And what are you going to do, Timothy?" he asked their son with a voice full of sympathy, but Timmy took it as an insult.

"I promised Christie to help her out with writing down the reactions she's working on. I'll take care of her and her bedtime," he said, looking at his feet. "Mom..."

"Yes, honey?" asked Blair as she stroked his cheek lightly.

"Why did you choose those shoes? They are so... purple" he said. This remark sounded weird in the mouth of a fifteen-year-old who had a very deep voice for his age.

"Don't they go just perfectly with the dress?" asked Mrs. Bass in a worried tone. She knew she could count on her son's honest opinion and listened to him every time he decided advice on her outfits.

"They go just a little bit too perfectly. Matching lighter purple with darker purple is too 2015. What would you say about orange pumps? Nah?" he said, when he saw her facial expression. "I know! Wait a second, I'll be right back. Green and pink Louboutin high-heels, that's it," he muttered under his breath. "Why didn't mom think about them in the first place?"

XOXO

"You need to tell mom and dad," said Christinne, giving him laboratory glasses made of Plexiglas. "Take those, you cannot replace your eyes."

They were both in her little home laboratory Chuck and Blair organized for her in the spare bedroom. She had everything she needed to make simple experiments but nothing too dangerous. It was her kingdom and the place where the Bass children had many of their get-togethers.

"Thanks, Chris," he said while putting the glasses on and preparing himself to write on the white blackboard. "You know I can't tell them. That would be... I can't do it, okay? How they look to people, their public image... it's very important to them. I don't really think having a gay son is a part of the perfect PR of the Golden Couple of the Upper East Side."

"You're being an idiot," said Christinne plainly as she put a tiny bit of potassium in a little glass container. "They don't see it that way. Look what dad is doing. For example, he goes with Anna to that cafe, every week. Even though he's very busy and waking up so early certainly doesn't help him on the meetings. But he's doing it anyway, just because he loves doing it and it's more important to him than work. And taking mom for all those lunches and brunches in the middle of the working days? How many headlines like 'Mr and Mrs Bass again out of the company. Shouldn't they be working or something?' have you seen in the past few weeks? Do you really think they care that much?" she asked in disbelief.

"I think mom already knows. I don't know how, but she always knows everything about us, doesn't she? It's just... I don't want to do this to dad. I see how hard for him it is to accept that I'm different. How would he react if I told him I'm not really... a guy." His eyes were full of tears now.

"But you are a guy, Timmy." Christinne took off her gloves and glasses and sat on her brother's lap. She took his face in her little hands and kissed his forehead. "You're just unique. You won't have a wife, and you probably won't have children either, but you're a man. As good as dad is. Don't you ever question it." She put her head on his arm and he started rocking her just like she was a baby.

"Are you really ten?"

"I am, my big brother," she said with a huge grin.

"You're way too clever to be ten."

"You couldn't be more right. So, now, what do we get if we mix KOH with HNO3?" she smiled and he started to laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

I hope you enjoyed chapter 1, here is chapter 2 then. :) I don't know when I'll be able to post chapter 3, though, it's totally dependent on my betareader. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl or any of the characters.

Chapter 2

"You are aware that you look stupid,right?" asked CJ as he looked at his twin sister, who was sitting opposite him in the limo. They were on their way to school for the first time that year.

"Shut up, Charlie. It's my first day as a Queen of Constance. I need to show those stupid, poor girls that I should have been made the Queen much earlier, because of mom. After all, she's the legendary Queen Bee so I've sort of inherited the crown. And I want to highlight this fact by wearing her old crown," lectured Anna. CJ pretended that he was fast asleep.

"It's not even a crown. It's just a headband with a few jewels on it. A very old headband, I have to admit," said Christinne while reading a Biology book.

"Focus on the book, girl," reprimanded Anna. Christinne just rolled her eyes in a very Blair like manner. "I'll need it later. I'll find you after lunch. Or better: you find me. After all, I'm your Queen too."

"Tone it down, Annie. You can make a servant of everybody you want, but don't occupy yourself with making me one. The only time I listen to you is when you tell me to go to bed, and only if mom or dad ordered you to. Any other time just mind your business," said Christie. She would never give up her independence, let alone to the orders by her sister.

"You should support Anna, you two," Timothy told them off. "It's our family tradition and I'm really proud of you, sis, that you're not letting it die. But I'll make you a more modern headband for when you establish yourself as the Queen, okay?" he proposed while looking intently at the very old but still good quality of velvet.

"I'd love it, Timmy, thank you," she took his hand. "You see," she addressed the other two, "Timothy knows how important it is to me."

"You know perfectly well I know it's important to you. I just don't know why you're doing it; you won't be the Queen for long, after all," whispered CJ.

"Please, CJ... Don't start with that now, it's really not a good time," she begged as she put her head on his arm.

"What is wrong with you two today?" asked Timothy, "Normally you argue, discuss each other's sexual life and so on, but today? What's happened?"

"Nothing," the twins said in unison even though it wasn't entirely true.

XOXO

"So, no one can wear a headband if I don't allow it. That's thegolden rule; you should've know it by now. You've heard of my mom, haven't you?" she asked, rhetorically, but her four minions nodded energetically. "I'm glad you know the history of Constance Billard's monarchy. Anyway, let's move on to the other rules." She took few rulebooks bound in dark green leather from her bag and handed them to the girls. "You have two days to learn this by heart. I hope you won't disappoint me," she added harshly.

"Training your girls already, sis?" CJ appeared out of nowhere. "Aren't you pretty, babe?" he said, looking at the youngest minion, a freshman, who had golden brown hair and sweet, brown eyes.

"Go away, Chucky. We have important things to talk about. You," she motioned towards the girl CJ was flirting with. "What's your name?"

"M-Melody," she stuttered. "Sparks."

"Sparks?" asked CJ, his cheek muscle twitched unexpectedly. "Is that just an unfortunate coincidence or are you somehow connected to Georgina Sparks?"

"I am. She's my mom," Melody stuttered as she shook in fear. CJ wondered if he was that scary or if the girl just had a cold.

"Interesting," said Anna in her uber bitch voice. The cumulation of Chuck and Blair's genes of bitchness made Anna Holly Bass the most scary 17-year-old in all of Manhattan. And she was only five feet two inches tall. Plus four inch high heels. "You know, sweetie, our parents aren't really keen on your mom, you know..."

"They aren't?" the girl stammered.

"No," confirmed CJ, in the same kind of voice his sister used to threaten younger girls. However, he didn't really need to use it - they were scared of him already. "And we are very close with our parents."

"So, I think you'll need to show more good will, so as to show me you are really into your job," said Anna, with bitchy smile. "Take it," she ordered while handing her all of her school books. "And go find my little sister; she has my biology book. Now," she ordered in a voice so sweet it had to be fake.

"Mom would have been so proud of you," whispered CJ straight into his sister's ear so that the other girls, who were scared to death, wouldn't hear him. "Good move with those books. I'll have this cute ass of hers. Just give me a week," he added and laughed playfully.

"You're so disgusting I'm afraid to touch you sometimes," commented Anna and pushed him on the chest.

"You know you love me," he said. He sent her a kiss and walked to the St Jude's part of the school.

XOXO

"How did you spend your vacation? Did you go somewhere with that cute sister of yours?" asked Jonathan von Ribbenstraum, CJ's best friend, while they were sitting on the lawn near the school smoking cigarettes.

CJ chuckled,"You mean Christinne? Because as far as I'm concerned, Anna is way too old for you. She's already seventeen." He laughed again. "You only fancy the illegal girls, don't you, Johnny?

"Fuck you, Bass," he retorted and flipped him off. "I don't particularly fancy those children. It's just that the girls our age, I've known them my whole life. And they don't want me, unfortunately. But, honestly, I prefer kindergarten to, for example, Tiffany Delacroix. She's a living monster." The boys both laughed.

"Like hell she is," agreed CJ.

"So what did you do this summer? I've barely seen you in the city."

"We went to our grandfathers' chateau in France for some time. French girls are pure heaven." He let himself daydream for a moment. "From there, we went with our parents to Japan for two weeks. Really nice place, actually, though I didn't see much. You'll have to ask Timmy whether it is a good place for vacation or not if you're interested. And when we came back, we went to Hamptons, where I've spent most of my time on the beach with hot young Europeans. Anna was in bed with her Brooklyn boyfriend. I suppose because I didn't see much of her. She was hiding or something."

"That's disgusting. Why is she with him, anyway?" Jonathan's face showed his pure disgust.

"You know Malcolm was practically raised on the Upper East Side, by our grandma, so Anna doesn't really consider him a guy from Brooklyn. Doesn't matter to me, actually. Genes are the genes, and his genes are from Brooklyn," he smirked, Bass style.

"How was he raised by your grandma? You're not related, are you? No, you can't be. You are practically a royalty of the Manhattan; you cannot be related to some Brooklyn ass."

"You really don't know this story?" CJ asked in disbelief. Jonathan shook his head. "Impossible. But I can tell you once again. You know Lily isn't my dad's real mother, right?"

"I heard something like that."

"She had married my dad's father, Bart. But he died in a car crash when my dad was eighteen so Lily took care of him and the company."

"Bass Industries."

"Exactly. And when my grandpa died, Lily remarried, for like, the sixth time, I suppose, and it was with her current husband, Rufus Humphrey, her old sweetheart.. He had some kind of a rock band or something. Never mind. Anyway, she married him. And he had those two children, you know, Malcolm's dad, Daniel Humphrey, the writer."

"My cousin adores him. Can't understand why."

"Neither can I. So, anyway, his other child is Jenny Humphrey from J Humphrey Designs, you must know her."

"My mom wears her clothes. She's not bad, actually."

"I might actually agree with you on that one. Even Anna, who doesn't really like Aunt Jenny, wears some of her clothes. Anyway, one day, when my parents went to Rome to get married, and Uncle Dan was living with Lily and his dad, an ex-teacher of Constance, Mr. Carr came to their penthouse with a baby. Ms. Carr practically ruined my mother's chances of going to a good college. It turned out my dear uncle had an affair with her when she was still teaching at our school and he accidentally got her pregnant. She'd left him with the baby and never showed up again."

"So you're saying that this documentary director, Vanessa Abrams-Humphrey, isn't really Malcolm's mother?" asked Jonathan.

"Nope. She was a lifelong friend of his father's. And she's the mother of his younger brother, Paul. I don't know how it happened, but Paul is nothing like his parents or older brother. I actually like him. I hope he will end up with Christianne one day; he apparently has a huge crush on her."

"I met him once at your place. He's quite a nice kid, isn't he? But he doesn't go to St Jude's, does he?"

"No, no, he doesn't. He goes to some stupid bohemian school he hates," he said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Just look at it!" he said to his friend while spotting a stumbling figure entering the lawn. "Archibald! Come here!"

The young boy somehow managed to join his older friends. CJ immediately stood up when he saw Archibald's nearly closed eyes.

"Alex. Alex, can you hear me?" he asked as he caught the boy before he collapsed.

"Jesus, he's completely wasted. Isn't he thirteen or something?" asked Jonathan while he helped his friend lay the boy on the grass.

"He's twelve. Where the hell are this child's parents? Or his sister? He's totally high. I'm taking him home. Help me, Ribbenstraum. I can't take him to the limo all by myself," he took one of the boy's arms while Jonathan took the other. "Bloody hell, Alexander. Wake up, little bastard." He shook him, but it didn't help at all.

"I'm never going to have children," said Johnny while they were dragging little Archibald to the Bass limo that was parked on the nearest street.

"I'll remind you of that when you finally get a hold of my sister. Yes, I know you have a crush on her. And no, I won't punch you in the face, don't worry."

Despite that, Jonathan didn't look nearly convinced.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello guys!

Sorry for the long wait! I had to change a betareader and it took me quite some time, then I was busy and so on and so forth. Anyways, I want to thank Ellie, my new beta, for all the work she's doing for me. It's great working with you.

I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

"Mom, where is Aunt Serena?" asked CJ in the middle of dinner as he ate his food amongst the rest of his family, the first afternoon after their first day back at school. Every one was there apart from Chuck who was on the business trip to Chicago."She's on the West Coast." answered Blair, taking some more spinach from the big bowl standing in the center of the table. "Why do you ask, anyway?""Alexander was like hell high at school today. _And_ hung-over," Anna replied casually taking a sip of her water. "I didn't see that myself but CJ told me he didn't look very well.""I know I'm not a saint myself, but..." started CJ. "Oh, like hell you're not, Charles Bass junior," Blair sighed, raising her eyebrow at her son. "_But_ it's pretty tough for a twelve-year-old, don't you think, Momma? _And_, I'd like to emphasise the fact, that I had never done drugs," said CJ in a very I-feel-very-offended-and-waiting-for-an-apology way. "Yes, yes, Chucky, you're a great son, I'm sorry. I'll call Nathaniel right after dinner, ok? I've been observing this young Archibald for quite a while myself and I think..." she stopped, not wanting to say anything about her friends being irresponsible parents. "You don't need to know what I think about your aunt and uncle as parents, do you? Of course you don't." she immediately answered for them before any of her children were able to speak. "Mommy, headmistress Queller didn't let me get into Advanced Chemistry and Advanced Biology classes. She said I was way too young and ordered me to focus on Basic Algebra. Mom, I already know Basic Algebra, I did it with Anna two years ago!" Christinne moaned, a pout gracing her features, a little over dramatically. Blair sighed. Sometimes having both very lazy and very hardworking children was not as easy as it may have seemed. "You know what? I'll go to headmistress Queller first thing tomorrow morning. I hope she's forgotten our minor discretions during my time at Constance..." Blair slipped in quietly before continuing.

"Anna, how is Tallulah doing? I hope better than her drug-addicted brother." Blair enquired politely. She clearly expected some good news for a change, but her children clearly had other plans.

The most interesting thing was, CJ blushed a little when she mentioned Tallulah. And Anna... she had looked pale and nervous since she got back from school. And Timothy wasn't in the best mood either. What was wrong with her children? "Charles, do you want to tell me something?" she asked in her best I-am-your-mother-but-now-I-am-using-my-PR-manager-voice-cause-it-is-easier-to-reprimend-you-this-way voice. "I do, actually. I need to talk to you," CJ said, looking at his wine glass. "In private," he added. "So do I, mom" Anna announced blankly. "Ok, then," agreed Blair.

"First you finish your dinner. I'm going to call Nathaniel. Anna, can you help Christinne with her Art homework while I talk to your brother? Then we can have a girly talk, ok?" she suggested, stroking her daughter's hair.

"Charles, ten minutes. My office.""Ok, Mom" he answered and continued on his steak.

"Are you OK, Annie? You sure you can do it on your own? I can go with you if you want. Hold your hand or something?...you may need your brother," he suggested, taking her hand in his tenderly. "Thank you" she said weakly. "But I need to do this one particular thing on my own. You can eavesdrop and if mum starts to shout really loudly, you can step in, ok?" she offered. "I have never heard Mom shouting." stated Christie. "Well, maybe a few times, at Daddy.""What are you two talking about, anyway?" asked Timothy, looking at them with pure interest in the eyes. "Believe me, bro, you don't want to know. Every second of not knowing is worth feeling excluded, believe me." CJ assured as he hugged Anna who had just started to cry. XOXOBlair heard knocking on the door. "Come in, CJ," she said, without putting her paperwork aside. She knew CJ preferred when she was occupied and didn't move from her desk when talking with him, while Anna always liked her sitting next to her on the coach and stroking her hair. "Hi, Mom," he said, in not a really CJ-like voice. Even though he would never admit it, he was really a mommy's boy and always came to Blair when he had any kind of problem. "What did you do?" asked Blair, taking off her Prada glasses."Why do you think I did something?" he asked in an innocent voice. Blair just looked at him. "Ok, ok, I did something. I did something terrible," he admitted as he sank into the sofa and put his face in the hands. "Did you kill somebody?" Blair asked calmly, coming back to her paperwork. "Mom!" protested CJ. "Of course I didn't!""Ok, then it can't be more terrible than what your father used to do at your age. So, what is it then?" she asked, breathing loudly. If CJ considered it terrible, then it must have been really not good, but she tried to make it as light as possible so as for CJ to calm down a little bit. "I've deflowered Tallulah Archibald in the back of the limo," he said on one breath before quickly shutting his lips tight, silence dropping in the room. "Bass style…" murmured Blair, but swiftly put her mothering front on again. "Is she pregnant?""Don't think so... she's probably not even having her period yet, she's fourteen" he stated. Blair just rolled her eyes. "I am pretty sure Tallulah has started her periods, son. I hope even though you don't know a lot about women's biology, you used protection. Please, CJ, tell me you use protection all the time, because if not, tomorrow morning I'm taking you to be tested for all the STDs I can possibly think of.""Mom, don't be silly, of course I used protection. Double protection, actually, I always do.""I'm glad, sweetie. Your father taught you well. So, if we came to the conclusion that Tallulah isn't pregnant, then how is she... emotionally? I'm sure losing her virginity at the age of fourteen wasn't something she had planned for...""I don't know, mom. I'm almost certain she hasn't told Annie yet because god knows I'd know about it if she had. So she's either too ashamed to tell her or doesn't mind or simply doesn't remember anything. She was pretty drunk when I've found her in that bar.""Ok, ok, let me think" she signed a few documents and then looked at him again. "I'll take Tallulah out for lunch tomorrow to check how she does feel about it, ok? And then you'll need to talk with her about how things are between you two…that, I can't and won't help you with, young man," she stood up to walk him towards the door.

"Can you call your sister? I feel like she has something worrying to tell me, don't make her wait any longer, all right?""Yes, Mom," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you."XOXO"Just please, please, please, Mommy, don't shout at me, I won't handle it if you shout," Anna pleaded while Blair merely looked at her puzzled.

Anna Holly was her little star, always ready, perfect, head of many charity organisations, Queen of Constance, good sister and good daughter as well as being a carbon copy of her mother. Blair continued to study her; why on earth would she, her mother, who had never shouted at any of her children (beside Chuck, who wasn't really her child), shout at her now?And before she knew it, her perfect world collapsed; Anna begun taking numerous pregnancy tests out of her pockets and putting them on Blair's lap. One by one, all eight of them were positive. Anna was sobbing and shaking so heavily she could barely stand straight. "Sit down, honey" Blair said calmly, opening her arms to let Annie cuddle up next to her, rocking her like a baby until she calmed down a little bit. "Say something, mom" she begged, sitting straight. "I must say, I'm disappointed in you, Annie-Bunny," Blair announced sadly, stroking her daughter's hazelnut coloured hair. Anna started to sob harder. "I hoped you wouldn't say that…I-I didn't know what to do... Mom, please, don't hate me, please, Mommy, please. I didn't want it, Mommy, please, don't abandon me, I need you so much," she was shaking so much Blair could hardly hold her. "Annie, dear, calm down, you'll hurt yourself," she embraced her and pulled her close to her chest, with all her strength.

"You misunderstood me, you really misunderstood me. I'm not mad at you, I'm your mother. I'm just sad you didn't tell me you and Malcolm were already having sex. I thought you would have told me.""We-...we didn't, Mommy. I've never slept with Malcolm. We broke up today. I had to break up with my lovely boyfriend because I wasn't mature enough to keep my pants on and appreciate what I had. Mom, how could I do that?"Blair sighed, put all the pregnancy test on the floor, sat crossed-legged on the sofa, facing her daughter. "Whose child is it?" Blair asked reluctantly, searching her daughters soaking eyes for any sort of hint. "You don't want to know.""I may not want to, but I need to.""Justin Baizen. I met him in Hamptons; he was there with his father and younger brother. I know you hate his father so much, and so does Aunt Serena, but he was so sweet and funny and mature. He goes to Dartmouth and I felt so happy with him, I just didn't think twice about going to bed with him. We did it a few time over those few weeks…you can't even imagine how godlike perfect it was. We must have forgotten about protection a few times and now I'm having a baby." Anna started to sob again. "Do you want to keep it? It's probably not too late to..." she couldn't even let the world drop from her lips when she thought of her unborn grandchild. "I can't, Mom. It's my child. I can't kill it, it's my baby. It didn't do anything wrong. How can I kill an innocent baby because I was stupid? It deserves the best...""Ok, honey. Remember, we're all here and we will be helping you as much as we possibly can. But you should be prepared for how your father and twin brother are going to react…their unlikely to be particularly thrilled.""CJ is being very supportive. Even though he's my brother and I love him no matter what, behind all that front, I've always known that deep down he's a good guy and I'd never expected him to be so good to me. He was holding my hand while I was doing all those tests. He's my twin brother, Mom. We understand each other." "I know, Annie, I always knew that," she kissed her daughter's forehead. "I think you're old enough to be told the history of my deflowering. I suppose it will help you in not blaming yourself for what has happened. And I have to say this, it may not have been your smartest move but it happened and it could become the best adventure of your whole life, believe me.""Hardly believable, Mommy" Anna replied as she smiled weakly. "I know, I know. But remember I was just three years older than you are now when I gave birth to you and your brother. And I somehow managed to enjoy being a mother more than anything else. But getting to the point, when I was your age, I was dating Uncle Nate.""How come have you never mentioned it?" Anna interrupted her. "There wasn't really any good occasion for that. But don't interrupt me, Annie; it's not easy to talk about it with you. So, I was with Nate for quite a long time and I thought our relationship was perfect, the best I could possibly think of. I thought I was happy… anyway… a lot of things happened between us and one day we broke up…sort of… It was the day when your father opened Victrola. So I went there to 'drown my sorrows' if you will and I did a little striptease right in front of your womanising father." Blair smiled at the very memory. "Mom!" Anna was frankly shocked. "Don't criticise, Annie. That was one of the best things I've done in my whole life. And after that your father took me home in his limo. I was turned on, angry with Nate, sad, tired, everything, actually. And I did it with your father, in the back of his limo. Me, classy society girl, Blair Waldorf, lost her virginity to the biggest man whore in the whole of the Upper East Side. And I hated myself for that, really hated what I had done even though it was so good, so fantastically refreshing. After that I had a kind of on and off relationship with your father and you see how it ended," she smiled and Anna smiled back.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that maybe your dream boy, I mean Malcolm, wasn't the one for you. Maybe this experience, having a baby and dealing with it, will change your perspective. You'll, maybe see that someone who you considered absolutely inappropriate is actually the one for you…just like your father was for me, even though nobody would ever have expected it." Blair smiled warmly at all her memories of Chuck and her in their youth.

"Now. We need to focus on you and the baby, ok? We will go to the doctor tomorrow morning to check if everything is ok and then to Headmistress Queller," Anna's lip trembled.

"I know you don't want to do this, but you have to. You need to take responsibility for your actions. And then we will send your father to talk with Carter Baizen.""Mom, please, no, there's no need to..." interrupted her Anna."I'm sorry, Sweetie, but that is my final decision. And I'm not going to change my mind. Believe me, it's the best for you," she hugged her tightly. "You can come in now, CJ!" she shouted toward the door that opened silently after that statement.

"Yes, I know you were eavesdropping all that time. Come here."He sat on the sofa next to Anna and hugged her tightly. They sat there in silence, wondering what they should do.


	4. Chapter 4

**It's been ages since I last published a chapter of this story but it's always been dear to my heart, constantly haunting me. I have taken a long break from writing, so it'll take me a little bit to get into it again. I really like this story and it's important to me, and I hope you will grow to like it too. It'll just continue from where i stopped. **

**Enjoy reading. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl, sadly. **

Blair was still shocked when Anna and CJ left her office an hour later. It was something she didn't expect, not in the next few years at least, but here she was, not even forty, about to become a grandmother. She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples, trying to calm herself down, but it wasn't as easy as Blair would want it to be. Without looking, she grabbed her phone from the desk and hit the button that automatically connected her with Chuck. She slid against the side of the desk, sitting on the floor, her legs in an awkward, uncomfortable position, and started sobbing just when Chuck picked up.

"Hello, Blair" he said, slightly absentmindedly.

In return, he heard more sobs.

"Blair?! Blair, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Chuck's voice no longer absentminded, it was frantic. Blair hardly ever cried at all, not to mention sob uncontrollably. "Blair, tell me. I can jump the plane and be there in a few hours."

"No. Finish what you have to do." Blair managed to say through the tightness she felt in her throat. "I just needed to hear your voice to calm down."

She wiped tears away with a sleeve of her crisp white shirt, staining it with a non-waterproof mascara. She was a bit calmer now, but her voice stayed affected by the tears. She couldn't tell Chuck over the phone, she just couldn't. But how could she _not_ tell him?

"Why would you need to calm down?" he asked as calmly as he could while being nervous.

"Sit down, if you're not already." she said in a small voice, so unlike her that Chuck simply followed her direction without questioning it, even though he normally would have.

"Ok. I'm sitting now. What is it, Blair?"

"Anna just came to my office and dropped a bunch of positive pregnancy tests on me. Our 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. With Justin Baizen." Here. She said it. She shared the burden of knowing with her husband. He would come up with a solution. Or so she hoped.

The only thing she heard on Chuck's side now was very heavy breathing and him whispering "Annie-Bunny" and "this fucking Baizen" every now and then. She didn't comment on it, just let him calm down enough to be able to talk. It took him close to 5 minutes.

"Ok. Ok." he said, in a faux-calm voice. "I'm coming back tonight. Don't try to stop me.".

And she didn't.

XOXO

Blair stayed up till Chuck came at 3 in the morning. She couldn't sleep anyway. Not after everything she's found out that night. Dorota made sure the kids would go to bed without any discussion and brought Blair the biggest pot they had, full of strong tea with no sugar. She didn't ask any questions, just wished her a calm night. Blair doubted she would have one.

She tried reading a book, but couldn't focus on her Kindle for more than a minute, so she gave up and was just staring out the window at the city, illuminated with hundreds, thousands of lights. The city that never sleeps. She sipped on her tea one more time when she heard Chuck's shoes making their soothing noise against the marble in the hallway.

"Hello," she said, her voice tired. She didn't feel like getting up, just waited for him to come to her. Chuck came into the dimly lit dining room and leaned against the wall, looking at his wife, so tired, worn out, but still as beautiful as she was when he first fell in love with her, over 20 years ago.

"We've got a problem, don't we?" she just looked at him, closing her eyes, too tired to say anything, and just nodded her head.

A few seconds ago, he had her arm around her, stroking Blair's side lightly.

"We've been through more difficult things, Blair." Chuck said in a soothing voice.

"Like what?!" Blair got some new energy into her and stood up, shaking his arm off. "What exactly was more difficult than a pregnant teenage daughter, huh?!" She had tears in her eyes again when she looked at Chuck expectantly.

Chuck rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had a hard day, and it only got harder and harder.

"We had four children, a pair of them at nineteen, you nearly died from being pregnant with Tim and then Christy. We're running a successful multibillion dollar company, and we've been doing it since we were still teenagers. We survived Serena going through cancer and now going crazy and abandoning her children with her cheating husband. We've survived so much over the years, we can deal with Anna being pregnant." He said the last sentence with just a hint of doubt in his voice.

Blair sat back down next to him and started crying uncontrollably, wetting the front of Chuck's shirt. He sighed and picked her up, putting her on his lap and bringing her close. They sat like this, not saying a single word because there was nothing to say anymore, no words could make them feel any better. They both knew it was no ordinary problem. They were going to be grandparents. There is no solution to that.

XOXO

They woke up with back pains and massive headaches after spending what remained of the night on a dining room chair, Blair on Chuck's lap, both still in their clothes. To say they looked bad would be an understatement.

"God, you look awful…" said CJ, walking into the room wearing his school uniform, his hair perfectly parted, smelling subtly of cologne.

"Oh, shut up, Charlie," said Chuck, smacking him on the head. "Dorota!" the maid appeared in the doorway instantly. "I need a strong coffee, make it a triple espresso, and a bacon bagel. I'm going to take a shower and get changed."

He left the room, stumbling a bit as he tried to walk straight.

"What's dad doing here?" asked Christinne, yawning, and grabbing a croissant on her way to the table. "Wasn't he meant to still be in Chicago?"

Blair looked at her with her half closed eyes, trying to comprehend her daughter's question. It took her a minute, during which Christie kept on tapping her foot on the table expectantly, making Blair's steady headache turn into a pounding nightmare.

"Stop with this tapping, Christinne, now," she said cooly. "Dad came at night. Eat your breakfast and get ready for school." At that she left, without looking back and took the stairs up to Anna's room. Anna was sleeping peacefully, but her pillow was surrounded by used tissues, her face red and slightly swollen. Blair thought of how childlike her daughter looked when she was sleeping and of how much it would change in the coming months. She lightly tapped her arm and Anna opened her eyes, reluctantly.

"Mom?" her voice groggy after sleep, her eyes bloodshot, just like Blair's.

"You've an hour to get ready." Blair said in a cool voice. She couldn't manage to put any motherly warmth into it, not today. She looked at Anna once more, then turned and left the room, hearing quiet sobs as she was going through the door. She didn't turn back.

XOXO

"Dad is coming?!" screamed Anna when she saw Chuck getting into the limo with them.

"Stop making so much noise, Anna," said Chuck in a low voice, pushing his daughter into the car. "I've a headache, so does your mother. I'm coming to the doctor with you, you're my daughter. I don't want to hear any discussion now, I'm not in the mood."

Anna listened obediently, too tired to protest, and leaned against her father. Chuck put his arm around her and brought her closer, whispering "It's going to be alright" into her ear.

XOXO

"Blair, Chuck, Anna Holly," Elisabeth greeted them with a nod. She was the one who delivered all of Bass babies, the one who forbid Blair to get pregnant again after the twins, then saving her when she went against her advice and blood clots nearly killed her. The choice of the doctor for Anna was an obvious one. "I'll be able to see you in half an hour or so, I've a visit before yours. In the meantime, Anna should get some tests done." She handed her a piece of paper and called over a nurse, who looked as if she was Anna's age, but she couldn't have been. "Natalie will take you."

After hearing those words, Anna started shaking.

"I'll go with you." Blair volunteered, taking her daughter's hand and pulling her towards the exam room, following Natalie. "Wait for us here, Chuck."

Chuck nodded quietly and sat at the closest chair. He hated waiting.

XOXO

"Ok, Anna, I have your results." Said Elisabeth, looking at the half of the Bass family sitting in front of her desk.

Tears started flowing down Anna's face and both her parents simultaneously grabbed her hands, Chuck rubbing the knuckles with his thumb.

"Is everything fine, Liz?" asked Blair, looking expectantly at the doctor who grew to become her good friend and who was now about to confirm that her older daughter was pregnant.

"Not exactly," replied Elisabeth. "Your results are, surprising, so to say."

Blair took a deep breath, waiting for what was to follow, her heart pounding in her chest. She looked at Chuck, his face looking as strained with nerves as hers. And then Elisabeth delivered her verdict.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here comes the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it and that there aren't too many mistake. I finished writing it late at night. Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl. Which is unfortunate, really. **

"Anna, you're not pregnant. But you could have been, considering how reckless you were with contraception." Elisabeth's face was calm, but her eyes and voice said it all - she was mad at Anna.

"I… I don't understand" stuttered Anna "The tests…"

Chuck and Blair stared at Elisabeth and the small stack of papers, Anna's tests results, lying on the desk in a neat pile. Nothing seemed right. Was Elisabeth joking? Was Anna pretending? But how do you fake a pregnancy test?

"Elisabeth, as relieved that I am that I won't be a grandfather before turning forty, I would really like some explanation. I believe my women would too." Chuck finally spoke up and although the relief in his voice was quite noticeable, he adopted the CEO voice he hardly ever used outside the office.

Elisabeth smiled, though she tried not to, not wanting to look like she didn't care. She still remembered the day when Chuck and Blair came into her office when Blair was first pregnant, at nineteen. Chuck used this voice on her then, probably trying to sound older than he was, which sounded funny, but she was still impressed with how caring he was towards Blair. She got even more proofs of it during the next two pregnancies, which were just getting harder and harder for Blair, putting her in more danger each time. And now he was here not only with his wife, but his daughter, which Elisabeth had personally delivered. What a weird feeling. Was she getting old?

"Anna Holly has a serious hormonal imbalance that caused the test to be false positive. It happens." She looked at Anna instead of Chuck. "I will refer you to my friend, doctor Pratt, he's an amazing endocrinologist, I'm sure he will be able to help you." Elisabeth quickly flicked through business cards in her drawer and took the one that had Ellias Pratt's details on it. She handed it to Anna, then pointed one finger at Blair, another at Chuck. "Now, the two of you, out. I need to have a conversation with this young lady."

Chuck got up as he was asked to and started heading towards the door, but Blair stayed in her chair.

"Is it really necessary, Elisabeth? She's been through enough today." Her voice was stern, Elisabeth could say that her favourite patient, and friend, was tired and wanted to put this whole situation in the past.

"Blair, go outside, it'll just take a minute, go hug it out with Chuck." Her mouth turned into a warm smile and Blair just shrugged, mumbled something and left the room, joining Chuck on the corridor chair.

They just looked at each other, understanding reached without words - Chuck pulled Blair onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her so she could calm down by listening to his heartbeat. It usually helped within seconds if the problem was small and minutes, if it was bigger. This time, it didn't help at all, Blair kept on moving around on his lap, making it difficult for Chuck to concentrate on her wellbeing and not body.

"Blair, please, stop moving around on my crotch, please." He didn't want to get her even more wound up, but she left him no choice.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" she jumped off his lap and screamed with such a scary voice, that Chuck's eyes instantly grew wide. He tried to grab her hand, but she just slapped it off. "Can't you be an adult for once in your life, Charles Bass?! For fucking ONCE!"

Chuck stood up. If Blair started swearing, it meant the problem was bigger than he could handle from his position on a wooden chair. He wished that for once she wouldn't wear heels so he could be much taller than her, but that wasn't even an option with his wife.

"Can't this wait till we get home?" the question was merely a formality, the last piece of hope. He already knew the answer. The answer was 'no!".

"No!" Ah, as expected. So nothing new today, thought Chuck. They've been married for nearly eighteen years, the arguments were getting repetitive and he often wondered why they were still having them. Now she will accuse him of being a teenager. "It's a difficult day and you get aroused by the fact I'm moving around nervously cause I've been through a shock! You're still a hormone-driven teenager!"

Ok. Hormone-driven this time. He hadn't heard it in a while, though it was a regular.

"Blair Bass, you know as well as I do that I am not in full control of my genitalia. So don't take all the stress out on me. I am stressed too! Anna is my daughter, my beloved little one, and just because I don't throw tantrums now doesn't mean I don't care, Blair." He knew perfectly well how she was going to respond, but he was too tired to listen to that. He closed his eyes and rubbed the inner corners.

"I shouldn't have shouted…" Blair's small voice sounded unnaturally resigned. "It's just too much to take. I know that all is fine, she's not pregnant, but the fact that she could have been… And at seventeen!" The first sob escaped her and the first few tears fell on her shirt, but the ones that followed had to be absorbed by Chuck's shirt as he pulled her close when he saw the first signs of coming tears on her face. They stayed like this till Anna came out of Elisabeth's office, looking exhausted and pale. She looked at them miserably and Chuck extended his arm, inviting her to join them, which she did. Blair thought that she felt like her little daughter again, tiny Anna Holly who would come to her mommy when she scratched her knee on the pavement when riding a bike. But Anna wasn't a little girl anymore, and Blair knew it all too well.

XOXO

"Go to your room, Annie. Rest. Watch a movie. Read. Do whatever you want. Your father and I need some sleep. We will talk with you and your siblings later." Blair's tone was informative, not cold but not warm either and Anna knew better than to protest. Or cry. She just nodded and went to her room. When she did, Blair turned to Chuck. "Sleep or problem solving?"

His tired, half-closed eyes told her everything. Problems could wait. Sleeping couldn't.

They woke up around four, when it was beginning to get dark. Blair started wondering if they would switch back to this crazy schedule they were on when the kids were young, when she didn't know if it was day or night, or what day of the week it was. After blinking a few times she realised there was no baby to come. No newborn.

"Chuck, Chuck, we're not going to be grandparents!" she realised he was sleeping when his face turned from calm to annoyed at her exclaim.

"Blair, if you're no longer sleeping, take your enthusiasm somewhere where it won't be waking me up." Blair chuckled. Chuck wasn't the best companion just after waking up. More like a no companion at all. She kissed his forehead and went to the bathroom. A long, rose smelling bath was exactly what she needed. She tried not to think of the pile of stuff on her office desk that need to be done urgently. No office today, no. The pile will have to wait till tomorrow.

XOXO

They sat together at dinner, the way they did almost every day, all six Basses. Or five Basses and a Waldorf-Bass, but that's just semantics. All seemed ordinary, but it wasn't - in the whole history of the Bass house this table has never been this quiet, even when it was just Chuck, Blair and unborn twins.

"Someone say something, for crying out loud!" Christie exclaimed when no one even looked at Dorota who brought them the main course. "Thank you, Dorota, that looks lovely."

"Chris, what came into you?" CJ looked at his usually calm little sister. He had a bad bad day, he couldn't sleep because he was worried about Anna and Tallulah, not sleeping made him tired, which got him a bad grade in History. He was already in trouble with this damn subject, his brain was just unable to retain numbers that weren't connected to money and dates weren't. He was so focused on not falling asleep that he didn't even notice the unusual silence at the table. "Just eat your food"

"I hate silence, silence means something is wrong, which means trouble," she was spitting out words more than saying them, obviously angry. Blair stopped staring at her plate and decided to pay attention to Christinne. She wasn't a little girl either, Blair realised and suddenly became very sad. She missed the sound of little feet on the wooden floors, toys all around the house, warm, sleepy children getting into their bed in the middle of the night. All of it was gone and was never coming back.

"Mom, is everything alright?" Timothy lightly touched her hand. Her sweet little boy, always so attentive, caring.

"Yes, love, I'm fine. I'm just tired, that's all. How are you feeling?" her question was casual, just what a mother would ask her child at the end of the day, but Timothy got all tense and squeezed her hand. "Timmy, what's wrong?" He didn't reply, just squeezed her hand one more time before letting go of it and standing up.

Before anyone could ask any questions, Tim raised his hand. "I need to tell you all something and it's not easy for me to do." He took a deep breath. Chuck looked at his son's knuckles, they were white. "I have a boyfriend. I have for a few months now. His name is Steve." He took a deep breath and looked at his family expectantly. CJ and Anna smiled and put their thumbs up, Chistie winked and also smiled, but their reactions didn't matter that much to him, they knew about it before, he only wanted to know what his father would say. Blair's reaction was as expected, she just held his hand and told him it's fine, normal and that she loves him a lot, but his eyes were fixed on Chuck. Who started… laughing. All Tim could do was stare. "Dad?"

"I'm sorry, son. It's been a tough day." he said through laughter, tears streaming down his face. "Come here, Timothy, I need to hug you."


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry that it was so long since the last chapter, but I was super busy, tired and just generally didn't feel like writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter. And thank you all for your comments, likes and subscriptions, they always bring a smile to my face. **

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Gossip Girl.**

There was a loud knock on the door, then CJ's head appeared in Anna's room.

"You can come in," she said, looking up at him from the book she was trying to read. She was meant to write an essay on it by the end of the week and she just couldn't get past hundred pages. "This book is completely retarded, I could use a distraction."

"Great." CJ sat on the edge of the bed and took the book out of his sister's hands. "Get changed, blow-dried, put some red lipstick on and whatever else you need to do. We're going out," and before she could say anything, and her mouth was already open, he added "You had a tough day today, with all this pregnancy stuff, you need to unwind. This age-old bullshit can wait till tomorrow. You need some alcohol in your blood. I've already spoken with dad."

She had no arguments left, so she just smiled. To be honest, she really did feel like dancing all the stress out and drinking way too many drinks. CJ was going to take care of her making it home safely, he was a caring brother, although he didn't seem to be to people who didn't know him.

"When are we leaving?"

"In an hour. I'll wait for you downstairs," he blew her a kiss and went back to his room, taking his mobile out of the back pocket of his tight trousers. He had Jonathan on speed dial and a few seconds later he heard a groan.

"What do you want, Bass? I'm in the middle of something…" CJ laughed when he heard a high female voice in the background.

"In the middle of something or in the middle of someone?" God, this joke never got old. Yet another groan on von Ribbenstraum's side.

"Cut it short, Bass. I'm. A. Bit. Busy. Here." More noises, some squeaking.

"Want a chance with my sister? Then finish with this skank, get your ass together and be in Victrola in two hours. And pretend it's an accident. I'm hanging up now, enjoy your fuck." He only just put the phone back in his pocket and he heard the characteristic clinking of high heels against the floor. He didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Charles Bartholomew Bass junior!" CJ knew that his mother calling him by his full name never meant an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He stopped and turned around to face the fuming Blair Waldorf-Bass. "Skank?! What kind of a language is this?" She folded her arms on her chest and looked at him expectantly. Even in those incredibly high heels she was still much shorter than him.

"Well, knowing Jonathan, he didn't really look for, ummm, a date, with too much attention. So I can bet my credit card that whoever he's with right now is not exactly a lady…" He said all this with a half smile on his handsome face. Blair just sighed. If someone put her son and her husband when he was CJ's age next to each other, they'd have been called identical twins. Even their characters, way of talking, gestures - all of them were so similar that confusing them wasn't overly difficult.

"Don't use this word again. 'Slut' is far more appropriate. And stop acting so much like your father, will you?" they exchanged winks. It was a family joke they always enjoyed. As Lily often said, Chuck could never doubt that CJ was his son, and even if he wanted to do a paternity test, no one would want to waste their time and run it.

XOXO

"Nice ass you have, sister," CJ took a moment to appreciate Anna's body, now nicely hugged by a tight, short burgundy dress with a bit of lace around the impressive cleavage. She gave him a look that meant that he should shut up. He replied with a wink and smacked her bottom.

"CJ, as much as I agree with your opinion on your sister's beauty, I'd appreciate if there was no incest in this family," Chuck walked down the stairs right behind Anna and gave CJ a smack on the head with a folded issue of Financial Times. "Keep your hands off my little girl."

The younger Chuck started laughing out loud and patted his father's back. They exchanged familiar smirks and Chuck pulled both his eldest children close to his side. "Don't be back too late, it's a school night. You can skip the first two lessons, but that's all. The limo is waiting outside. Enjoy yourselves, and remember that I own the club," twins rolled their eyes almost simultaneously. "I love you too, kiddos. You look lovely, Annie-Bunny. Now, off you go." With a light push he directed them towards the front door.

After they left, Chuck sat down on the small sofa in the hallway and tried to decide what to do next. He was quite tempted to just pull Blair into bed and watch a good movie, but Blair was in the middle of planning some big party for Bass Industry's business partners and he didn't want to disturb her, knowing how touchy she could be about being interrupted. He didn't feel like doing any work that night, there was nothing really urgent, he'll attend to the current issues in the morning. What Chuck didn't want to admit even to himself was that he was actively avoiding talking to his younger son. He simply didn't know where to start the conversation without appearing nosy or unsupportive, on the other hand, he knew this conversation had to happen very soon - something told Chuck that it was his approval that Timmy was most worried about and the last thing he wanted was to let his son down.

Chuck Bass, you are a man, don't behave like a baby, he told himself and got up, leaving Financial Times on the sofa. He hated the paper anyway. He took two flights of stairs to Timothy's room, without hurrying too much, still apprehensive about the whole conversation thing. Tim's door was close, so he knocked and waited for an answer. There was none, so he waited for a few seconds and was just about to knock again when he heard a muffled sound. Very quiet but rather distinct sound of sobbing. He decided not to wait for an answer, Timothy probably didn't even hear his knocking, and just walked into the room.

Timothy was lying down on the bed, his face pushed into a pillow, Chuck wasn't able to tell if he wanted to muffle the sound or needed the pillow for comfort. He didn't bother with tiptoeing around the bed or stroking the dark, messy hair on his son's head, that was Blair's job. He sat down on the bed next to Timmy, grabbed boy's arms, lifting him up and pulled him into a strong, comforting hug. Timothy opened his eyes to look up at his father, so different now, calm and strong, but also surprisingly comforting.

"I'm here with you, son. Cry this stress off, you need it. I'm here," he pulled Timothy closer to his chest, letting him wet the front of his shirt. What did I do to my own son that he's so scared of me, thought Chuck, shedding a tear. He thought he did everything in his power to not be like Bart, but here he was, being Bart to the most fragile of his children.

"Dad?" whispered Timothy, his voice audibly affected by the hours of crying. "Dad, do you… do you still love me?"

Chuck just looked at him and burst into tears.

"Dad?! It's ok, I understand if you don't…" Timothy's eyes were now sad, he tried to get out of Chuck's embrace, but his father just pulled him closer. It took him a little while to calm down and stop crying.

"Timothy, I love you since I saw you in a tiny USG picture, when your mom was just a few weeks pregnant. And my love for you just kept on getting stronger and stronger. Son, I love you, I always have, I always will. You being gay doesn't affect it. It doesn't change anything. We all love you the same way, we just want you to be happy. Timothy, if you're happy being with a man, I'm going to support you, always." He finished his short speech and let Timothy out of his arms so he could sit up.

"But I let you down, didn't you? I'm not like you, or CJ, I'm not the son you wanted, I'm not strong and manly. How can you love me?" Timothy desperately wanted to believe in what his father had just said but it wasn't that easy for him.

Chuck knew what Timothy meant and how it has affected his relationship in the past. But he has never been disappointed with his son, more scared of him than anything else.

"Do you know when you'd let me down? If you decided to live against your feelings and beliefs, trying to pretend you're someone you're not just to please me. I know it will take a while to convince you, I do, but I'll do whatever I can to make it happen. I promise. Now," he smiled at Timothy, which made him relaxed a little bit, his face was no longer so tense," I'd like to meet your boyfriend. I thought that we could do it in a more informal way, so he doesn't get scared with the whole Bass family crazy dynamic. Maybe a coffee? Or lunch? We could make it into a boys' thing, get CJ to come as well, what do you think?"

Timothy's lips formed a small smile.

"I'll have to talk to Steve first, but I like the idea. Thank you dad," they looked at each other for a few seconds and smiled. It was a good day after all.

XOXO

"Barry, make Anna's drinks less boozy from now on," CJ looked at his sister, who was getting more and more drunk.

"Sure thing, Mr Bass, we don't want to have Miss carried out of here by the end of the night," the bartender didn't even look up at CJ, just kept on doing what he had to do. He was used to his boss's children getting drunk and even though it was none of his business, he didn't understand why the twins had so much freedom to do as they wished. But he knew it wasn't his business and he didn't even really care. Now he poured CJ a glass of Scotch and left to attend to another customer.

CJ took a long, slow sip and looked around. The second he turned left, he saw Jonathan standing right in front of him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, don't come up to me like this!" CJ said angrily, pointing a seat next to him, indicating that Jonathan should take it.

"Oh shut up, Bass, you're still alive," Jonathan took his seat and waved at the bartender, indicating he wanted what CJ was having. "Where's Lady Anna?"

"Dancing with some guy. Fairly drunk already."

The both looked in Anna's direction. She was a bit more than fairly drunk.

"Go, von Ribbenstraum, and make an honest woman of her," CJ patted his friend's back as Jonathan's stood up. But before he could take a step, CJ grabbed his jacket and stopped him. "But if you fuck her today, I will cut your dick off with a paper knife. Clear?"

"Crystal clear, Bass. Now let me go and get the girl."


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the chapters being so spaced out, but the past few months have ben a really busy time in my life. I am still really busy, but my life is pretty regular now, so I will try to post more often. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl. But I do own the characters that have not appeared on the show. **

"I don't remember if Bart ever hugged me when I was a child," Chuck whispered, sitting on the floor next to Blair's desk. She took her reading glasses off and pushed the papers she was working on to the side, and looked at her husband. It was really late and they were both really tired.

"He wasn't a good father to you, Chuck," she moved her chair so she was facing him and could hold his hand. "But he probably hugged you once in a while."

Chuck pulled her closer and hugged her legs. He sometimes wondered what would have happened to him if he had never met Blair. Or Nate. Or if his father never met Lily. There would have been no Non Judging Breakfast Club, no smoking pot just outside the school gate, no sex in the limo. But most importantly, he wouldn't have the step mother who is like a real one to him, he wouldn't have his family, there would be no twins, no Timmy, no Christy. No Blair to cuddle with after coming back from a business trip. No one to argue with about how to raise the kids. The Bass Industries would probably look much different, without Blair and Serena's influence, though recently the usefulness of Serena's input has been arguable. He was one lucky man, Chuck Bass.

"What would I have done without you? Without the kids?" he asked her. She took his hand and brought it to her lips, brushing them lightly along his knuckles.

"You would have had a much calmer, more boring life?" she suggested. Chucked looked at her. At nearly forty, she was still no less stunning than a a fourteen-year-old he fell in love with when he first saw her walking down the corridor in Constance on the first day of high school.

They had known each other, of course, since they were children, but their parents were somehow never the part of the exact same social circle and Chuck and Blair never played together, or went to the same yoga for toddlers classes. They went to schools in different parts of Manhattan, their paths crossed rarely: a pool party in Hamptons here, an opera evening there. But he never really saw her until that first day of school when they were fourteen. She was walking down the corridor, with a few friends, including Serena, but he didn't even notice his future step sister, all he could see was a petite brunette, taking quick, steady, decisive steps in her black high heels. The first thing he noticed were her long curls, longer than now, resting on her then small breasts, barely noticeable under the school uniform. But he could see they were there and in his head he saw himself with her nipples in his mouth, worshipping her beauty, savouring that moment. She wore a bright yellow headband in her hair, and a matching handbag she carried in her small hand. Every part of her seemed small, he found it cute then and he finds it cute today. Her uniform skirt was short, probably a bit shorter than the school rules suggested, but he didn't mind, not one bit, being able to see a bit more of her legs. They were perfect legs. She was all perfect. The fourteen-year-old Chuck Bass fell in love at that very moment, in the middle of a corridor of Constance Billard, where he wasn't even supposed to be.

He remembers every single detail, still, because that day he knew one day she would be his. And not the way he had girls, for a night, or a few, sometimes a fortnight if they were particularly interesting. She appeared angelic, though he was soon to find out that there's more of a devil in her than an angel, and she quickly broke his heart when she chose his best friend over him. Not that he ever told anyone about his feelings, especially not her, but not even Nate. And here she was, not a girl anymore, with shorter hair and, admittedly, much bigger breasts, yet still as attractive, as beautiful, caring, cute, his wife, mother of his children, his very best friend. She was his family, and she gave him his family, risking her life to bring their children into the world.

"I wouldn't have been the same man without you, Blair. I love you, I always will." He told her, on his knees in front of her, his head on her lap. She smiled, though he did not see it. She couldn't imagine her life without him just the same as he couldn't imagine his without her.

"Chuck Bass, you're getting old and sentimental." He chuckled quietly and hugged her legs tighter while she stroked his hair. "But now, we need to think of how to handle the situation with Timothy…"

XOXO

"I think you've had enough, sis. I'm taking you home." It was nearly two in the morning and the thought of having to go to school after a whole night of partying didn't sit well with CJ. He tried to take his best friend's hands of Anna's bottom, but all he got was an angry hiss. "You two, meet up by yourselves, do whatever, but I'm taking the lady home. Ribbenstraum, hands off!"

It took significant strength on CJ's part, but he finally managed to separate the two of them and, afraid they might get glued together again, quickly put his arm around Anna and pushed her towards the exit.

"God, why do you have to be such a douche!" she exclaimed when he shoved her into the limo. "I was having fun!"

"You were on a verge of not remembering tomorrow if you had fun or done something really stupid with Jonathan. One pregnancy scare in a month not enough for you?" He was calm, but after the initial happiness about not becoming an uncle in high school, he was quite angry with her. Sure, he wasn't the best example of celibacy himself, and he hardly expected it of anyone else, except maybe Christy (then again, she was ten), but how could his very own twin sister have been so stupid as to have sex with no protection? She was damn lucky. This time. "Learn to use condoms first, then take your pants off."

She just glared at him, without offering a single word of comment. For the next week.

XOXO

"Where the hell have you been for the past month!" it wasn't a question, it was an expression of anger, Blair no longer cared where Serena had disappeared to, and didn't even try to control herself, Serena didn't deserve so much of her energy.

"Nice to see you too, Blair. I was in Rio." Serena didn't look bothered at all. Perfect curls, a bit of tan, gently round pregnant belly, which was just beginning to show. She was wearing flip flops, for Christ's sake, they were in an office and it was October. Flip flops in October.

"Are you for real?! You disappear for a month, without a word of warning, not caring about your children, they're living with Lily, by the way, Nate decided that 'it will be better'", she said the last part mocking her friend, "Your son is on drugs, your daughter is dancing on tables in bars, and we lost a deal with Harrods because of you pulling the disappearing act!"

Serena crossed her arms and looked the other way, the way she always did when someone told her something that was true but which she didn't want do accept. It may have worked on Lily, and it used to work on Blair, but not anymore. Not since they were sixteen.

"Don't be so dramatic. I needed some time to relax. I am pregnant, after all," her tone was accusatory, as if she was trying to put all the blame on Blair not understanding her needs. But Blair was taking none of that.

"Now you're just being ridiculous. Relax… You could have gone to a SPA. And don't get me started on relaxing just because you're barely even pregnant, you're not getting any sympathy from me on this front." The anger was leaving her now, replaced by pure resentment. Serena was never going to grow up, she seemed to blatantly refuse to acknowledge that responsibility existed, and Blair had enough children of her own to take on Serena as well, and possibly her children.

"I'll call Harrods, get the deal back. Don't worry, I'll fix it," she was now taking her phone out of the bag, but Blair stopped her.

"That's not going to happen, you no longer work here thus don't have the power to represent the company or speak in its name. Sorry, Serena, but these are consequences of behaving like a 15 year old. It's a company, not a school. We have shipped the things from your office to your house, and I would like you to leave the building within the next," she looked at her watch, gift from Chuck for their tenth wedding anniversary, "10 minutes. You should make it, even considering how tired you are with your pregnancy. Let's make it 15, then. For old times' sake." She closed her massive Hermes bag and took the coat of the closet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going out for lunch. Good luck with your life, you will need it."

XOXO

"So she just came into the office as if nothing happened?" asked Caroline von Ribbenstraum half an hour later, when she and Blair were enjoying their usual Thursday lunch at Le Caf. If one was to describe the array of emotions on her face with one word, it would be disbelief. Blair nodded in reply, her mouth full of duck in cherry glaze. "Honey, I know she's been your best friend for years, but this girl, she's just so childish."

Blair rolled her eyes and flushed the duck down with some red. Caroline didn't need to tell her.

"I think it's actually insulting to children, at least ours - they realise when they did something wrong and Serena doesn't. God, this salad is appalling, what did they put in it, mayonnaise?" She waived at the waiter to come over.

"I think what makes the difference is the fact that both you and I decided not to let the money we have turn our children into irresponsible idiots. Which is quite different from the old school Upper East Side upbringing, from what I've gathered," said Caroline, after the issue with Blair's salad was resolved. She herself was brought up in D.C., daughter of a Swiss ambassador, so she never experienced the Upper East Side growing up herself. Hers was more of a White House growing up. "Paying attention to your own children still isn't exactly en vogue."

"Some of us had more nannies than we could count to. But I've only ever had Dorota, so at least one constant in my life." The new salad the waiter had brought her received her approving nod, so they were left alone again. "Anyway, how is the darling Gemma? How is she finding London? I bet this university she's going to is no match for Princeton, though"

"She's actually enjoying it quite a lot, says her inner European has awoken in her," they both laughed. Caroline, although technically Swiss, has never lived in Europe, unless you count holidays spent with her gambling grandma in Zurich. She spent her early years in Japan, where her father worked in the embassy and where she learnt Japanese, before he was made an ambassador in the States, where the whole family stayed for the following thirty plus years. "To be honest, I am quite scared she might want to stay there and I can't possibly imagine my daughter living so far away from me!"

Blair nodded in sympathy. The thought of one of her children living across the ocean from her was too scary to fathom. It was enough that two of them were headed to college in just over a year, and she hated to admit, even in front of herself, that she longed for them to choose Columbia and stay at home for a while longer.

"You didn't know me back then, but if twenty years ago someone had told me that I would marry Chuck Bass, have four children with him and worry about the day when they will all move out, I would have given them the number to my psychiatrist. God, how people change…" she sighed, smiling to her memories. First time with Chuck at the back of the limo, their wedding day in Rome, holding each of her newborn children. Her life was so much different from what she had planned, yet so perfect. And if her teenage planned worked, she would now be married to Nate. Judging from what his life with Serena was like, that was the last thing she would have wanted.

XOXO

"How was your lunch with Caroline?" asked Chuck, when Blair returned to the office. He was sitting at her desk, with New York Times across his knees and smiled at her when she entered.

"Feet off my desk, Bass, go violate yours," she said, pushing said feet to the floor and sitting at the exact spot where they were. "Lunch was nice, as usual, though they gave me some appalling salad, I don't know what happened to the chef, I will enquire about it tomorrow when I place the order for your birthday party."

"I've heard that Serena honoured us with her presence today?" He raised his eyebrow, as if to say 'Why would you not think it important to let me know?'. She looked at him apologetically.

"I was going to tell you later. She came in as if nothing happened it was unbelievable…" It managed to get Blair angry and shaking her hands again, so Chuck leaned forward and stroked her knee gently.

"It is entirely believable and, sadly, it was also something we both expected. Try not to get too heated about it, there's no need. At least we got a good reason to get rid of her, she was generating only losses in the past year. Also, Nathaniel finally called me back, after three months of silence." His face expression turned sour and he started sorting out his newspaper, a telltale sign that he was sad or disappointed. In this particular case, it seemed like a good mixture of the two, with a slightly bigger dose of the former.

"What did he say?" Blair asked in her soft voice, reserved for sad husbands, children with broken hearts and bruised knees. Chuck just shook his head and looked out of the window. "Tell me, Chuck. Should I go and slap him across this wrinkled face?" The mention of Nate's early signs of ageing of which Chuck had none, always brought a smile to her husband's face, but not this time.

"He was kind enough to let me know that he will only be able to talk to me again once his term is over, since he's being closely watched and can't have friends in the private sector. What a piece of bullshit…" Chuck banged his hand on Blair's fragile desk so hard she jumped up. "He's 'friends' with enough CEOs to fill the Metropolitan Opera. He's just an idiot who doesn't appreciate years of friendship." He shook his head yet again, putting it between Blair's hands. She began to stroke his cheek gently, in a slow, soothing motion. She wanted to say something but couldn't think of any words that would make this situation better. They seem to have both lost their lifelong friends that day, this time for good. Nate has changed to such a degree he was almost unrecognisable. Lost was the kind young man who would do anything for his friends, replaced by a die-hard politician who cares about nothing else but his post. Serena, on the other hand, hasn't changed at all. She was still a teenager at heart, while Blair has been an adult for a long time now, they simply weren't on the same page anymore.

They were sitting there in silence, surrounded by the typical middle-of-the-day hustle and bustle of a busy office and tried to hold back tears. So many years of friendship, so many difficult times they have gone through together and yet the Non Judging Breakfast Club was over. It has been over for a long time, but it's difficult to realise that something you want to hold on to simply doesn't exist anymore. They looked at each other, as if silently closing a chapter in their lives. They were still Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck, and no one was taking that away from them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the long wait, but I had a really busy time at work and then was away for Christmas. This chapter is slightly shorter, but I hope not less satisfying. :) **

**I do not own Gossip Girl. Sadly. My life would be nicer if I did. But I do own Anna, CJ, the von Ribbenstraums and the rest, so keep your hands away from them. ;)**

_Three months later…_

"Anna Holly Bass!" Blair shouted, when she entered the house on a particularly cold and gloomy Wednesday afternoon. It was beginning of January and the world was still operating in the post-Christmas haze. Blair, on the other hand, was on top of her game, though tired. "Get. Down. Here. Now!"

Screaming wasn't usually a part of Blair's repertoire, she preferred to keep her tone low because, as she said, anyone can scream, but not everyone can be heard when they're quiet. But this time she was so angry with her daughter that she couldn't control herself. There were limits to parental patience, and she has run out of hers. Anna, aware that screaming meant Blair was beyond angry, run down the stairs quickly. Her heart was pounding so loudly she could almost hear it, cold sweat run down her back, all the blood drained from her face - she knew what it was about and talking with her mother wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

"Would you care to explain to me, young lady, why you have not showed up to your piano lessons for three weeks? Or your French elocution with Francois? Last appointment with Elisabeth? Young Ladies of Manhattan charity tea? Not to mention school for the past three days?!" Blair was pacing in front of stiff, pale Anna. "And why is your limo going back and forth to the same place in Upper West Side? Say something, I'm waiting for some explanation!"

"I am seeing someone" Anna whispered, barely audibly.

Blair put her hands to her temples and massaged them for a few seconds. Those who had known her for a long time new she got this habit from Chuck. She thought better of Anna than to turn into a reckless, irresponsible creature at seventeen, when she was so solid and reliable all her life.

"How is it stopping you from attending school and your extracurriculars? Your college acceptances will be revoked if you keep on behaving like this! Not to mention, Anna, I find it really disappointing. I thought you were smarter than that." She shook her head again and started taking jewellery off. "You are going back to your schedule starting today afternoon. You missed today's piano already, you've gymnastics in two hours, I do hope you're packed already."

Anna took a deep and loud breath before she uttered the next words.

"I am seeing him tonight. And I don't like gymnastics."

Now it was Blair's turn for deep breaths. Fifteen of them, to be exact, she counted each inhale and exhale separately, there was fifteen of each.

"I am your mother and as long as you live in this house, you do not get to not go to school or miss your after school classes. Neither does any of your siblings. I do not tolerate such behaviour, you well know this. We can talk about your sudden dislike for gymnastics some other time. Is this boy missing school as well? And who is he, anyway? I will need to talk to his parents about what I think about such behaviour."

"He's not a boy, he doesn't go to school anymore." Blair didn't think it was possible, but Anna turned even paler than she was before. She looked almost greenish now.

"Sit down, for heaven's sake, you look as if you were going to collapse." Blair put her arm round her daughter and led her to the nearest settee. "I am angry at you, but obviously it's not the end of the world. Is he a college student?" Anna shook her head and started weeping. "I don't like weeping, Anna Holly, Bass women don't weep like soap opera characters."

"It's Ellias Pratt," she finally admitted, and, instead, started crying silently.

It was Blair's turn to feel faint. Beyond faint. The last thing she remembered was the ceiling as she fell back on the floor.

XOXO

"Miss Blair! Miss Blair!" Dorota was standing over her, fanning her with a cookbook. "Are you ok, Miss Blair?!"

"It's been Misses for so many years, Dorota, not Miss," she said, massaging her head. Dorota extended her hand to help Blair up, but Blair dismissed her and just grabbed the edge of the settee to pull herself up and back to her feet. "Where's Anna?"

Dorota looked concerned. "Miss Anna very upset. I send her to her room. She cry a lot."

Blair decided not to say anything. Better to not say anything than to regret something, like calling your own daughter names, and that was the very thing she felt like doing. She dismissed Dorota with a meaningful look and walked over to the living room. It was the only room that remained almost unchanged since they bought the house, which was a big achievement, considering that Blair went into a redecorating frenzy at least once a year, transforming the place room after room. But this was the room she loved the most, with sofas into which she liked to collapse after a day at work, one whole wall covered with books, just a part of their home library, but nonetheless impressive, a lovely French coffee table she personally flew to pick up, a tv with a massive screen. Pillows, blankets, frills, "girly stuff" as Chuck called it, covering every available space. Guests were never invited in here, not even the closes friends, it was a family only place, their own Bass version of a Non Judging Breakfast Club - the only place were Chuck would be seen wearing sweats or Blair picking her nose. After what she's just heard, Blair needed the solace of this cosy, familiar space.

She closed both sets of double doors, one going into the official sitting room, the other into the kitchen (food supplies in close proximity are very important when watching Super Bowl, as CJ would say), and locked them. She didn't want anyone interrupting her. There were many words she was tempted to use to describe this situation, but none of them was worthy of uttering. Oh, why couldn't her daughter just fall in love with a college student, like a normal teenager? Before she realised it, she was tucked between pillows of the sofa, hugging one of them, with tears slowly rolling down her face, going in turns from her right and left eye. Sometimes she regretted having children so young, maybe if she had been older, wiser, she would have made fewer mistakes? But there was no way of knowing this for sure, especially since her own mother had her just after she had turned thirty, ten years older than Blair when she had twins, and mother of the year she wasn't. Blair rarely had such thoughts, she was generally very much content with the way her life had turned out, but sometimes, just sometimes, she would daydream about finishing college first, then starting her own business, having her first child in her late twenties, then maybe having another one a few years after. When planning her future as a teenager, she didn't imagine working at her husband's company (though, admittedly, her job concerned mostly the part of the company she developed single-handedly, the luxury accessories and perfumes branch, which couldn't be any further from the real estate and industrial part Chuck dealt with), pregnant when she barely only started college, with four children in tow, two of whom were heading to college before she turned forty. What she somehow omitted during those daydreaming sessions was that she had also thought she'd be married to Nate, who was the last person she would like to be with at the moment.

She was so deep in thought that she only heard that someone was trying to get into the room when they started banging their fists on the mahogany door.

"Leave me alone, I need time to think!" she shouted, not caring who it was. Even her children had to respect that their mom needed some privacy from time to time, the same way they did from her.

"It's Chuck. Dorota called me. Will you let me in?" his voice was soft, he was obviously trying to calm her down, but at the same time her ear, well trained through almost twenty years of marriage, caught a note of distress in all this smoothness. She got up, albeit reluctantly, and unlocked the door, but quickly returned to her safe spot on the sofa. Chuck found her, a pile of misery, buried between pillows. He scooped her gently and placed on his lap, like he sometimes did with the children and hugged her tightly. There were many questions to be asked, but he thought it was better to let Blair calm down first and speak when she was ready. They sat in silence, Blair taking deep breaths and Chuck gently rocking her in his arms, remembering the last time they sat like this, a year ago, when Christy was very ill and doctors couldn't tell if she was going survive, and if so, if she would retain normal brain function. Luckily for them all, a few days later Christy was back on her feet, her IQ of over 150 intact. This time, Chuck had to idea what was going on, so every minute he was getting more and more anxious about Blair's continuing silence. After Anna's pregnancy scare, what could it be that has shaken Blair so badly? Did it turn out it was not a scare after all?

"Blair?" he said, trying to gently urge her to talk, but she just shook her head and said "Give me five more minutes."

She took a few more breaths, and started to talk. She told him about Anna's recent behaviour and how she came to find out what it was being caused by. When he found out, Chuck pushed startled Blair back onto the sofa and got up quickly.

"I'm going to kill this bastard with my own bare hands." The voice that came out of Chuck's throat scared Blair, she's never heard such viciousness and pure hatred from him and was worried he might actually go through with this. She got up to her feet and put her arms around him, in the attempt to calm him down, but he shook her off him. She tried and tried, until he finally let her hug him.

"We can deal with it without bloodshed, I am sure," she said in a soothing, motherly voice, steering him back to her favourite sofa. "We need to talk to Anna, and one of us needs to go to this abysmal doctor's office and explain to him that if he ever tries to contact our underage daughter again, there will be consequences. I will do it. You talk to Elisabeth, it's her who recommended him. She can handle you, I'm sure of that." She stroked the hair off his forehead and kissed it gently. "Now calm down and we will go talk to this promiscuous daughter of ours."

XOXO

They got out of the room holding hands, a visible sign of them acting as a team, and headed to Blair's study. When they were on the stair's, Blair asked passing Dorota to bring Anna to see them. Once in the study, Blair took her own seat behind the desk and gestured for Chuck to take the one in front of it, but he shook his head.

"I need to stand, sitting down takes more effort," he explained and she just nodded. They waited for a few minutes, but no one came.

"Where are they? Dorota!" she shouted, but there was no response.

"I'll check on them," offered Chuck and left the room. He came back a few minutes later, pale even for him, holding a trembling Dorota by the sleeve of her shirt.

"Will someone care to explain to me what's going on here?!" Blair couldn't sit down any more and joined them in standing up. "Dorota!"

"Miss Anna gone. Make up gone. Suitcase gone. Prada shoes gone. I'm sorry."


End file.
